


Urge

by RottenMint



Series: Paternal Instincts [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Keith/Shiro is only mentioned, Nesting, but can be inferred a bit in some parts, dads of marmora, ships aren't explicit they're like barely there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 16:17:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11383815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RottenMint/pseuds/RottenMint
Summary: In which Keith gains some new knowledge about Galra 'puberty', and something a little more special.





	Urge

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, another installment for this series! Sorry for the long wait, all. This fic ties in with part of the previous work in this series, and takes place before it. You don't need to read the previous installment to understand this one, but I would recommend reading it if you haven't already. 
> 
> As always, sorry for any mistakes, and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

“Kolivan, I- uh.” Keith stops short, blinking at the sight in front of him. Kolivan, Antok, Thace, and Ulaz are sitting in a small circle on the floor Kolivan’s room. They’re all grooming one another.

“Keith,” Antok greets, his voice wobbling due to the purr thrumming in his chest, “come.” He pats his crossed legs. Keith shifts on his feet for a moment before stepping into the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

He settles into Antok’s lap, and Antok stops grooming Thace, instead licking at the back of Keith's neck. Keith shudders a bit, body relaxing at Antok’s ministrations.

“What did you need?” Kolivan asks between his own licks at Antok’s large ears.

“I… I have a question. I'm not really sure how to phrase it.” Keith reaches up, running his hand through Thace’s fur, and Thace leans back enough that Keith can groom him as well.

“Speak your mind, we will do our best to answer.” Ulaz promises as he pulls away from Kolivan’s neck, spitting out a mouthful of white fur.

“I was laying in my bed and something felt… Off, I guess. Like something was missing.” They’re all silent for a second, and then Thace begins to chuckle. Keith’s face heats in embarrassment. He pulls away from Thace, Antok wrapping his arms around Keith and licking the side of his neck in comfort.

Ulaz shoots Thace an irritated look.

“Sorry.” Thace turns around, facing Keith, and runs a hand over the crown of Keith’s head. “Sounds like you're growing up, is all.” Keith raises an eyebrow.

“Odds are he’s dealing with the nesting urge.” Ulaz murmurs, Kolivan nodding in agreement.

“The nesting urge?”

“An urge that all Galra face, at one point in their life. Some face it again later, but we won't know for sure until after you reach maturity.”

“How do you stop it?” Keith demands, shutting his eye as Antok licks his cheek gently. “The feeling this… _urge_ gives isn't one I'm enjoying.” Ever since Keith noticed the feeling, he couldn't shake it. His skin crawled, stomach churning and sweating bullets.

“No, it's not particularly pleasant,” Kolivan agrees, “it is quite easy to stop, however.” He stands, Ulaz and Thace following suit as he heads to a few bags pushed against the wall. Kolivan roots through one and pulls out a tunic. He lifts it to his nose, taking a few sniffs. Once he’s satisfied, Kolivan tosses it to Keith.

It lands on Keith’s head. Keith makes a disgruntled sound, going to yank it off and ask why Kolivan is _throwing clothes at him_ , when he freezes. The scent of Kolivan’s clothing makes Keith feel warm, safe. The churning of his stomach has disappeared, and he’s sweating less. Keith takes the article of clothing off his head and folds it into his arms.

“Why…?”

“When you nest, your body wants you to collect things that belong to people you are close to. Your pack, if you will. It calms your instincts, which are unbalanced by hormones.” Ulaz pulls a similar tunic from another bag, but he walks over to Keith and hands it to him carefully. “I believe Shiro said humans call it ‘puberty’?”

Keith groans, “I get to go through second puberty. Lucky me.” Thace cocks his head as he passes his own clothing to Keith. Keith shrugs. “Never mind.”

He runs a hand over the clothes. It doesn’t make much sense- that something as simple as a piece of fabric that smells like someone else could make Keith suddenly feel so much more comfortable. Then again, Keith supposes that it’s just one more thing about being part Galra he’ll have to get used to.

“You said ‘pack’, right?”

“Yes.” Antok murmurs.

“How do you know who’s in your pack?”

“People you’ve grown up with, such as family and friends. Mates, as well.”

“So… would the others be a part of my pack? Allura, Coran, the Paladins.”

“I would think so. As your mate, Shiro would be, without a doubt.”

“And the four of you?” Keith asks, addressing the room. “Would you be too, if your scents help?”

“Yes,” Kolivan answers, sitting down, “since we are teaching you about your Galra side, teaching you behaviours and instincts, your base-brain has registered us as parents.” Keith looks down, biting his lip.

“And… Do you think of me as your kit?”

Antok rubs his face against Keith, his purr kicking up a notch.

“Antok has considered you to be our kit since the day in the training room. As have the rest of us, I'm sure.” Kolivan scoots closer, running his knuckles down Keith’s cheek. Ulaz and Thace move closer as well, Ulaz running his fingers through Keith’s hair and Thace pressing his side to Keith’s.

Keith’s throat tightens and his eyes begin to burn.

“Okay.”

Antok croons, placing his chin on on the top of Keith’s head. The other Blade members wrap their arms around Keith as well, effectively sandwiching him between them.

He can’t hold back a sob.

“Okay.”

:::

Keith walks back to his room, arms full of clothing. Four tunics- one from Kolivan, Antok, Thace, and Ulaz respectively- and three of Shiro’s shirts. The shirts are reasonably new and don’t smell like Shiro, at least not in the way the tunics are saturated with the scents of the Blade members, hence why Keith snagged three of them as opposed to one.

He debated grabbing clothes from the other Paladins, but that was a bit of a stretch. Keith knew that Shiro would ask when he noticed and shrug it off, take it in stride. The others would probably be understanding too, Keith just felt that it would be more appropriate to ask before stealing their clothes. Provide some context.

He manages to get to his his room without running into anyone, and dumps the clothes on the bed.

Keith stares at the heap, tilting his head to the left, then the right. He spreads the tunics out first, making a ring with them before piling Shiro’s shirts in the middle. He stares at it for another minute, then climbs onto his bed. He curls himself into a ball and inhales.

The combined scents quiet his instincts entirely.

Keith sighs in contentment. His eyes fall shut, and a small grin slips onto his face.

_Parents_.

**Author's Note:**

> It's official, Keith has four dads. 
> 
> Come talk to me about Keith and his dads @ clever-canadian-goose on Tumblr!


End file.
